Melbourne: Chief selector George Bailey has said Australia’s tour of United Kingdom is a great opportunity to explore what newer guys bring to the table, especially in the T20I format.
All-rounder Cooper Connolly has been handed his first international call-up through Australia’s T20I squad to face Scotland and England in September. Young batting sensation Jake Fraser-McGurk, largely seen as a successor of David Warner, has been included in both T20I and ODI squads.
Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson and Aaron Hardie also get chances to stake their claim for a consistent run in Australia’s T20I scheme of things, with an eye to prepare for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
“It didn’t feel like we needed to completely rip it apart and start from scratch. There’s some world class players that have been there and will continue to be there, but it’s also a great opportunity to start to explore some other guys.”
“The T20 and one-day squads that we’re taking to the UK, a lot of the guys either haven’t been on a tour or haven’t had a great deal of opportunity and can now start to get some games playing for Australia.”
“This is a really important series … (for) a number of guys who have been on tours, played one or two games but haven’t had a great deal of opportunity yet. It’ll be exciting to see a number of players, including some of the fast bowlers, we’ve been impressed by what they’ve shown in a short space of time,” said Bailey to reporters.
Speaking of Fraser-McGurk’s call-up, Bailey remarked he looks forward to see how he steps up to the challenge of playing international cricket after lighting up IPL 2024 as a top-order batter for the Delhi Capitals.
“Jake has shown there’s enormous potential there. Like any player I think, the step up to consistent international cricket will be a challenge. You’re faced with a high-end opposition, different conditions and just the back-to-back nature of international cricket can be a challenge as well, so looking forward to seeing how Jake handles that when he gets his opportunity.”
Connolly’s skillsets of a left-handed batter who can also bowl left-arm spin make him a utility player in T20s, and Bailey thinks the Perth-based youngster is someone who can develop to be a multi-format player for Australia in future.
“I think we have a number of opportunities where we can create that (for him). There’s a number of Australia A games, there’s some CA XI games if we feel like we want to keep providing red ball experience he might not be getting elsewhere. He hasn’t played a great many games of cricket yet, but we really like his versatility.”
“His work through the middle order for the Scorchers has been really impressive. Handy left-arm spin as well, which is something we’re really keen to keep exploring and see where that goes with his cricket.”
“If you look at T20 specifically for Cooper, that ability to bat from four to seven, we find it is a challenging spot to find and maintain players through that area. That’s where he’s had the majority of his opportunities and that’s where we’ve liked the skill set he’s provided. Who knows where he can get to.”
Bailey signed off by saying Australia are keen to give a proper run to wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis, who didn’t play a single game in last month’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies, as Matthew Wade became the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter.
“We’re excited about giving Josh a run. He’s been waiting in the wings and (only) had small opportunities in the T20 space previously. We’re excited about him taking over a bit more permanently from now on and clearly he’s had a taste in the one-day team and we’re looking forward to that continuing as well.”
–IANS
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